Two Freshmen arrive at Dalton.

All too soon for Nick's liking it was August and he found himself sat beside Jeff in the front of a rental car; Wes was in the back along with everything that he might need during his first year at Dalton Academy. The boy's smile had been broad all week, although it had faded a little that morning when his departure from the West Village had been attended by the majority of the neighbours. He had received handshakes from the Warblers of his fathers' generation, all of them so proud to see him dressed in the uniform Dalton sweatshirt for the long car journey they had ahead of them. There had been words of advice from those old boys too, along with small gifts that made it seem like a celebration rather than a departure.

His Uncle Mike had not shaken his hand but had hugged him, something that Wes was happy to accept; Mike was the closest of his uncles after all. He had also whispered in his ear one short sentence – "I shall take care of them both for you." Wes knew what Mike meant by that, as his dad had seemed much more distant and even a little off with him for the last few weeks.

He settled down in the back seat for the journey and opened one of the novels that was on his reading list for freshman English, and with no distractions thanks to the headphones he was wearing, he was soon engrossed in the Steinbeck classic. Meanwhile in the front of the car there was also silence, Nick allowing his husband to concentrate on his driving in the busy and congested streets of the city as they navigated their way to the Interstate; he had decided that it was best for Jeff to drive first, as he was feeling upset about so much that morning as reality hit hard.

Once they were on the Interstate, Jeff finally spoke, able to express the truth as their son could not hear thanks to his noise cancelling headphones. "I don't want Wes to be so far away from home either, you know. The house will be too quiet without him. However, we agreed that this would be his choice and we have to respect the fact that he has chosen to follow in our footsteps."

Nick sighed and replied, "I know that Jeffie and I am so proud of the young man that he is growing into, but I just feel… I feel like we are abandoning him, pushing him away from us with all of our talk about how wonderful Dalton was for us. What if it isn't like that for him? What if he comes to resent us for sending him there?"

"Firstly, we aren't sending him there, he is choosing to go. Secondly, he would have resented us all the more if we had denied him the chance to go. The truth is that as soon as the scholarships were created, we were caught in a Catch 22 situation. We just need to keep letting him know how much we love him, even if he is going to be far away, and that he can call us anytime he needs to. We can promise to video call him, just not every night. Plus, he has an advantage we didn't; he will have Sebastian and Thad to go to if he has any issues."

As that conversation was taking place, Sebastian was at the airport in Columbus, meeting an incoming flight from the west that was bringing Timothy Hart to Dalton from his home in the God-fearing heartland of the nation. He would only have his carry-on bag and one case with him, the rest of his belongings having been delivered by a courier firm the previous day. In the original plan, Sugar had been going to drive him to the school, but at the last minute there had been a change of plan for an undisclosed reason, and he was now taking a plane.

That had of course necessitated someone going to the airport to collect him; Sebastian had volunteered himself for the job as Thad had looked so tired the previous day. He had a piece of card with Tim's name on it, which made him feel like a chauffeur awaiting an important client; he just hoped it would be enough to attract the boy's attention, because in the busy arrivals hall it would be hard to spot him, even armed with the photograph of him that he was. The flight was announced as having arrived and by some miracle, there was a sudden lull in the flow of humanity; the doors opened and only about a dozen or so people walked through, which made it easy for Sebastian to spot the boy…

He was tall for his age, as Sebastian had been - he had an athletic build with shoulder length blond hair, which Sebastian could envisage in his mind as dreadlocks, as Tim's face resembled his father's in so many ways. He chuckled inwardly at the reaction that Mrs Carmichael would have had to a boy with dreadlocks; she would have said nothing to his face, but it would have shaken the conventions of Dalton Academy quite a bit. Then he saw that he had been spotted and that Tim was making his way over to him…

"Hello, I am Timothy Hart, but you are not Thad Harwood; I suspect you might be Sebastian Smythe, the man that has saved two Broadway shows and leads the Warblers… I apologise, I should be calling you Sir…"

Sebastian smiled, and said, "I am indeed Sebastian, and it is good to meet you Tim. Now, don't worry about calling me Sir today, or indeed at any point when we aren't at Dalton. Let's get your bag and then we can get you to the school and settled in. You have arrived before your roommate, so that will give you the first choice of bed in the room…"

Tim laughed at that, then said, "I just hope that Wes Sterling-Duval and I get on; we have such different backgrounds. My mom says that he is nice, but when you are sharing a small space with a stranger…."

Sebastian would relay that conversation to Thad when he was back at the school and Tim had been installed in Room 36, and he had nodded. "It can be awkward at first, especially when two only children find themselves having to share a room," he stated, then checked his phone as it buzzed. "Well, we will find out soon enough; that was Jeff. Nick is just turning the car into the school drive as we speak. Now, our Nick could also be a problem today, as he hasn't been happy about the idea of his boy coming here since Wes made the decision. I can understand that, because they are close, and he will be so far away from him during term."

Sebastian nodded, recalling something that Trent had hinted at weeks before. "I guess that we need to make the whole process today as swift as possible then, and hopefully that will prevent their being too much heartache for all three of them."

Thad nodded, then said, "Can you go back up to room 36 and fetch Tim for me? I have always found that it is much easier for two boys to meet on neutral territory than in the room they are going to be sharing…"

"That is very true, but we do have one positive thing so far; by some chance, Tim chose the bed that was Jeff's back in the day, so Wes will be occupying the bed that was his father's. The funny thing is that on entering the room, Tim headed for that bed, but then he stopped, shook his head and headed for the other one, as if he knew that there was a family significance to the bed in question…"

Thad headed out to the front of the dorm building, quickly taking an antacid tablet as he walked, as he had a stomach ache that would not quit. As he emerged from the school, he was not in the least surprised to see the Carmichaels sitting on the bench that was directly across from the door; Edith had asked him that morning what time the Sterling-Duvals were expected, and she had obviously been planning to be on the scene just by chance…

Thad smiled as the car pulled up; he was answered in kind by Jeff at once and by a wave from the boy in the back. However, there was no smile from Nick, just as Thad had feared, the brunet looking troubled. Nick remained in the car as Jeff let himself out, before opening the rear door to let Wes jump out too. The blond came across to Thad then, before whispering, "I'm afraid that Nick is finding all of this quite difficult…"

"I thought that he would, but I'm afraid that he has just been ambushed by the lady that just happened to be sitting outside as you arrived," replied Thad. Jeff turned round to see that his husband was still in the car, but Mrs Carmichael was at the door, talking through the window to him…

Edith Carmichael had seen the scene before her many times before in her years at Dalton, although usually it was the mother of a boy she was talking to at this point. However, times changed, even if the speech she was now giving the man she still thought of as one of her boys had not. "Nobody wants to see their child leave home, at least not when the child in question is as intelligent, well-mannered and kind as your Wes is. The truth is that this day was always going to come; he will go to college at some point, want a place of his own, need to establish his independence away from those that raised him. At least whilst he is here you know that he will have people that you know and trust looking out for him. You also have to realise that Wes is a smart and mature boy, and he will know that you are upset; even understand why. However, if you don't cope with these feelings now, he might start to resent you. Like all birds, he needs to fly free; better that he spreads his wings first here than in the dubious company he might find at college surely…"

"Well, yes," admitted Nick, "but I am just so used to him being at home…"

"Surely you aren't scared of being left alone with Jeff once it is just the two of you in the house?" teased Edith, and that made Nick's eyes widen, and his cheeks go red.

"No, of course not, although I must admit that I am worried about how he will feel when my work takes me away and he is left home alone…"

"I am sure that he will be absolutely fine; however, if you don't have your son at home, you would be able to ask Jeff if he would like to come with you more often than before, and that would be a good thing for both of you…"

Nick nodded, and replied, "I hadn't thought of that…"

"Well, maybe you should not see this day as a tragedy, but rather as an opportunity opening up. For now, you need to get out of the car and help with your son's bags. You also need to meet his roommate…"

Nick got out and went to help Jeff with the bags and boxes from the trunk; Wes was still talking to Thad, which meant they were unobserved and alone; that allowed his husband to take his hand and gently squeeze it, a gesture which said 'We will get through this together, just as we always do, because we love each other.' Then the door to the dorm building opened up to reveal Sebastian, and with him Nick and Jeff saw a boy of their son's age. They looked at each other, both immediately thinking that the photographs they had seen of Timothy Hart did him no justice whatsoever; he could easily be a model for a designer label, although the clothes he was wearing were anything but, a sign that he had been raised in a frugal household where every cent counted. They watched as Sebastian guided Tim over to where Thad was standing talking to their son, Wes having his back to them.

"Ah, good!" said Thad as the two new arrivals came close enough. "Wes, I'd like you to meet your roommate, Timothy Hart…"

Wes turned and instantly smiled at the boy in front of him, a smile that was returned every bit as quickly. Wes felt as if he already knew Tim and that all of the fears he had harboured about meeting him were entirely groundless. He held out his hand to the blond boy, and the latter's smile widened.

"It is good to meet you at last, but please call me Tim; I am only Timothy on a Sunday or when I have done something wrong…"

Wes chuckled and said, "I'm only Wesley when I'm in the same boat." Tim laughed too as he took Wes' hand to shake…

Wes would later tell people that the moment that their hands met, it felt like he had sparks pulsing through his entire body, but in a good way. The handshake was a long one, both boys' cheeks flushed when it came to an end.

Around them, only one person had observed the frisson of excitement that had passed through the two young men, and that was Sebastian. He looked at them, confused at first, but then it dawned on him exactly what he had just witnessed. He said nothing to anyone, just made a mental note to encourage both of the boys to listen to their heart and follow what it was saying to them in all things. If they were soulmates, as he now strongly suspected from the reaction they had had to shaking hands, then they would work it out for themselves in time, just as Nick had with Jeff…

He also had an inkling that it would be the blond boy in the position that Nick had occupied once this time round, as he would have witnessed much more rhetoric, bile and hatred towards the LGBTQ community; in New York, society accepted by and large, but in small towns like the one he had grown up, where religion was still the beginning and the end in so much, he would have seen so much prejudice and discrimination. He knew that Joe and Sugar would have taught him to be as tolerant as they were behind closed doors, but he suspected their attitude might well have been a minority one back home…

He wondered all of a sudden if that was what lay behind the Harts determination from the beginning to send Tim to Dalton. Perhaps they had realised that their son needed the kind of tolerance and acceptance that a Dalton education would give him; that here he would be able to be himself…

Suddenly he realised that his name was being called and he came back to the present, to see that the two boys had run off to the dorm room together, leaving the adults to follow with all of the luggage. From what Sebastian knew, such behaviour was not like Wes at all…

Sebastian smiled to himself as ahead of him Nick and Jeff carried a case each up the stairs, as he and Thad followed with a box each. Thad looked at his big grin and gave him a curious look, so Sebastian whispered, "I think that the name Wesley is about to be used, probably followed by a stern Sterling-Duval…"

The Head Warbler nodded in agreement. "I really do not understand it, because he is usually such a polite and helpful boy…"

"Maybe young Timothy Hart is going to be a bad influence; you so often hear such things about the sons of preachers," mused Sebastian, before he began to hum the Dusty Springfield hit Son of a Preacher Man. Thad's eyes widened as he realised what he was humming, and he had to do his best to supress the urge to laugh. Fortunately, the two other adults did not hear what he was doing, and he stopped as soon as they approached Room 36…

The door of the room was open, and the sound of giggling could be heard from inside. Nick placed the case he had been carrying down in the hall and motioned to Jeff to stay where he was standing, before walking into the room without knocking. "Wesley Sterling-Duval! I am sorry to interrupt, but you seem to have forgotten several things… First of all, your manners and secondly, all of your luggage!"

The giggling stopped as Sebastian gave Thad an 'I told you so' look, and then they all heard Wes speak. "I am really sorry dad; I was just so excited to meet Tim and to see my new room."

"It was entirely my fault, Mr Sterling-Duval. I should have been more considerate of the fact that Wes was just arriving and that as a consequence he would have bags and boxes to bring in. I can only apologise for my actions and hope that it hasn't left you with a bad impression of me…" came Tim's voice.

Sebastian nodded, and whispered to Thad, "Yeah, he's trouble alright. These two are going to have you pulling your hair out. Face it, if Wes turns out to be as adept at pranks as his father was and Tim starts to see it as a competition, then it will be Niff Mark II round here – or should I perhaps says Twes…"

Thad shook his head, then chuckled. "You seem to have forgotten that the majority of the pranks Niff pulled took place in the Senior Commons, which rather means that it will be you pulling your hair out, not me, my dear friend," he replied rather smugly, amplified when he saw how Sebastian's face paled at the realisation.

"Excuse me, Mr Harwood, I can take that now," said Wes, the two men suddenly realising that he was standing right in front of them. Tim was at his side and took the box that Sebastian was holding, before giggling as they walked back into Room 36.

"How much of that exchange of ours do you think they heard?" asked Sebastian.

"Probably too much," replied Thad with a sigh.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Nick was surveying a room that was so familiar, even if the decoration had been changed and some of the furnishings were new. It had been the room he had shared with Jeff for three years after all, back when in his eyes they were just friends as he was straight; then the blinkers had fallen from his eyes in the last few days at school when he realised that he could not bear the idea of losing Jeff forever…

"Wes will be the one sleeping in your old bed by the looks of it," mused Jeff as wrapped a loving arm around his husband. "I also think that he is going to be sharing the room with somebody that is going to be one of his best friends. Look at them, they are as thick as thieves, and he is hardly through the door yet!"

"That is something, I guess," sighed Nick. "Of course, he is really happy and excited to be here, whereas on my first day here I most definitely was not. I was still so angry about the fact that my dad had dragged us all away from Illinois and all of my closest friends. However, in retrospect, it was the best thing that ever happened to me, perhaps the only favour my father ever did for me. Without it, I might never have met a certain someone that changed my life…"

"Yeah, meeting Trent was quite the highlight of Dalton for me too," Jeff replied with a cheeky smile, as Nick shook his head and tried not to laugh…

"You know exactly who I mean; the person that solved the puzzle that was my life, because he was…"

"…your missing puzzle piece? Funnily enough, I met someone who helped me complete my puzzle too." Nick was smiling as Jeff pulled him into a hug, then started to kiss him…

"So yeah, my dads are very much in love with each other, particularly when it isn't entirely appropriate. I suppose the fact that this very room was their room a long time ago has stirred up memories for them, particularly as we went out and left them alone."

Wes sounded exasperated, so Jeff carried on kissing his husband, before turning towards his son. "One of these days, this will happen to you too, and it won't be nearly so frustrating or amusing then," he said. Nick could only blush and blurt out that he needed to have a chat with Thad, before running from the room. Jeff shook his head, then proceeded to help Wes with all of his unpacking…

When Sebastian saw Nick coming out of the room, he knew instinctively that his fellow musketeer wanted to speak to Thad in private, so he made his excuses and went off to attend to the Senior Commons; no matter how often he did it, that room always seemed to need another tidy. Thad escorted Nick to his apartment, made tea for them both, then sat down in the sitting room with his friend.

"Is it wrong that part of me wanted Wes and Tim to hate each other at first sight, so that he would demand to be driven back to New York straight away?" said the lawyer quietly, ashamed to have had such a thought.

"No, you're simply a loving father that is going to miss his son. It is refreshing to see, trust me, because so many fathers of the boys here just drop them off and go, almost as if having to bring them here was a terrible imposition. Wes will be fine, and trust me on this, you will be too in a day or so. Think of it this way, outside of the school vacations you and Jeff will be on a constant date night; free to go out on the spur of the moment… Heck, you could even go all out and join the New York City Gay Men's Chorus…"

"That all sounds wonderful, but my fear is that it won't be like that at all. I will come home and head for my study after dinner every night, whilst Jeff heads up to his studio because we no longer have anything to keep us both in the same room; worse, that I will come home to find my dinner in the oven and a note from Jeff saying he has eaten and is already in his studio…"

Thad shook his head, and said reassuringly, "That is never going to happen to you and Jeff, firstly because you are Niff and annoyingly in love, and secondly, because you are aware that it could happen and will fight it tooth and claw. The first rule is that you always eat together without exception, and I suppose the next one is to find a mutual pastime to bring you closer. Might I suggest that you could take up dancing again? Mike could remind you of the steps you have already forgotten, and it would let you make proper use of that sprung floor in the drawing room. Now, if it is any help, I will encourage Wes to believe that NYU and Columbia are the two best colleges in the world, and to go anywhere else when he could stay at home for free would just be stupidity…"

"Now that idea I do like," admitted Nick. "I already know that he isn't leaving forever by coming here, but the idea of him coming back to the city for college really makes me happy…"

Thad nodded, not sure what else he could say that would offer Nick any further comfort. He had after all, never experienced the feelings that he had; he might have a son, but that was far from common knowledge and there was no way that he would break a confidence and tell Nick about the pain that he sometimes felt when he left after visiting his brother in New York and seeing his young namesake. Then he realised that there was something that he could say that would possibly help.

"I love him like a son as well, you know; ever since that day over fourteen years ago when you placed him into my arms. I promised then that I would always look out for him, and I meant every word. He means the world to me and all of our brotherhood because of whose DNA he carries alongside yours; in fact, he is actually a relative of mine by marriage when you think about it. That doesn't mean that he will receive any special treatment; he will have to abide by the same rules as every other boy in the school. What I can promise is that I will make sure that he calls you at least once a week – or every night if you want…"

"Maybe twice a week – I don't want to be one of those annoying fathers that never allows his son to grow up and follow his own path."

"That is the last thing that you are, trust me. You are one of the best fathers I know, so unlike your own in every way," replied Thad. Then he changed tone slightly. "Now, I think that the best thing that you can do is not hang around too long, because that will not help you at all. Once you have finished your tea, we will head back over to Room 36; you can say your goodbyes then head off. If I recall, you said that you would be staying with your grandparents tonight?"

"Yes, we are…" said Nick, before he sighed. "I guess it is a bit like a BandAid; the quicker you do it, the less painful it will be…" He set down his cup and stood up. "Okay, let's do this before I start to have all of the qualms and misgivings again."

So it was that Nick returned to Room 36 with Thad at his side; as soon as he stepped through the door, he noticed what sat in pride of place on his son's nightstand. It was a copy of one of the last family photos that they had taken, one that showed them together on the day that he had finished his schooling in New York. They were all smiling in the photo and had their arms wrapped around each other. Nick had not known that his son had a copy though, let alone one that was in a silver frame…

His son saw where he was looking and he said quietly, "I had to have a copy of that here, because then I will be able to see you and papa every day; I might want to phone you every day too so I can talk to you both…"

"At first maybe, but I am sure that once you find your feet and you are busy with work and clubs then it will be less – at least twice a week would be perfect though…"

Wes nodded, then said firmly, "I love you so much dad."

"And I love you too, and don't ever forget it," Nick replied, before he pulled his son into a hug. Across the room, Jeff watched on and kept his distance, as he knew that father and son needed a moment in peace…

It would be Jeff that drove the rental car away from Dalton, as his son waved them goodbye, and his husband did the same. He also knew to pull over to one side as soon as they were out of sight of the dorm buildings; then he held Nick in his arms as his husband cried, but it was not the full-blown sobbing that he had feared at first, nor did it last quite as long as he had anticipated. Whatever Thad had said to his husband seemed to have worked quite well…

"He reminded me that he loved Wes too; that through DNA he was actually a part of his family as well…" said Nick, as if he had known exactly what his husband had been thinking at that point. "I still think that the house is going to feel empty when we get back to New York tomorrow, but he will be home again before we know it."

Jeff nodded and wondered whether this would be a good moment to tell Nick that he had been thinking about that himself; indeed, he had wondered whether they could consider doing what Beats and Elliott had done all those years before and become foster dads. It would help to keep the house busy and occupied, as well as being a wonderful way to give something back to the community in general. There had to be plenty of teenagers that would need the help and support that they could give them and as long as Wes was okay with it, they could use the spare room next to his for the foster child.

Looking at his husband, he realised that it was much too soon to suggest such things to his husband; it might also be too soon for Wes, as he might think that he was being replaced, which was the last thing that he would ever want his son to feel. Like Caleb, Wes was irreplaceable. However, in time, he was sure that they could all find space in their hearts to love another boy that deserved and needed it…

Back at Dalton, Thad had anticipated that there might be a moment for Wes too, but he had decided that Sebastian should be the one to deal with that. To that end, he left him to keep an eye on Wes as he escorted Tim over to the main school buildings for a tour of the classrooms, so that he would be able to find his way around the following week when classes began…

After waving his dads goodbye, Wes had headed up to his dorm alone; Thad had cautioned Sebastian to wait for two minutes or so, then go up and check in with him. Sure enough, he heard the faint sound of crying as he approached the door of Room 36, which was still ajar; he knocked and then walked in, to see Wes wiping his face. Sebastian did not speak, just held open his arms and that was enough. He let Wes cry on his shoulder for a few minutes and then as he heard the tears subside, gently let the boy loose…

"I cried on the day that my maman left me here in my freshman year," Sebastian said quietly. "I don't think that there has ever been a boy with loving parents that hasn't on his first day here…"

"I'm going to miss them so much, Uncle Bazzy," said Wes sadly.

"And they will miss you too, but this is the start of the next phase of your life, the time when you are not a boy anymore, but you are also not quite an adult either. It is hard, but what you have to remember is that new adventures are around the corner, and there are new friends to be made that you will keep for the rest of your life; in fact, you already have made a new friend in Tim. It is a cliché, but at Dalton Academy at least, these really can be the happiest days of your life…"